The Flex are Beats most affordable earphones to date, and they’re ever so close to being considered a bonafide bargain. Hilda Scott uses her combined passion for gadgets and bargain shopping to bring you the best prices on all things tech. She has a bachelor’s degree in film and media studies from Hunter College and 11 years of tech and entertainment journalism. Her beats solo pro wireless work has been featured on Tom’s Guide, iTechPost, Examiner.com, Parlemag, Enstars, and Latin Times. When she’s not scouting for the best deals, Hilda’s catching up on her favorite TV shows and pro-wrestling matches. Thanks to the Apple W1 chip, Beats Flex integrates nicely with iPhone/iPad offering a quick, one-touch setup and seamless interaction within iOS.
Using Bluetooth 5.0, they provide a very stable Bluetooth range. Beats earbuds manage to pass the second brick wall and continue playing music for up to 65 feet . One thing worth noting is that the neckband produces some cable noise. Thankfully, it isn’t obnoxiously loud, so you get used to it quickly. On the other hand, mics use overly aggressive noise cancellation for reducing background noise during phone calls. It can occasionally muffle your voice to the point where you don’t understand the words anymore.
It’s also disappointing that the earbuds cannot be repaired or have the battery replaced, partly due to the cost of repair being higher than the cost of purchase. The earbuds are light at just 18.6g, which is 7.7g lighter than the Powerbeats, and fairly standard with silicone ear tips of which four sizes are included in the box. The Flex are very much designed for day-to-day casual listening so that’s just fine.
Available in four fun colors, there’s certainly plenty to love here—especially at this price point. One of the best things about neckbuds is that the actual buds are quite light, which makes for a pretty comfortable fit. True wireless buds have a lot going on under the hood, so they’re often weightier than non-TW earbuds, which leads to more ear fatigue and discomfort. It’s still very much present, though you may be underwhelmed if you’re the “give me all the bass you can stuff into my brain” type of listener. I find the balance to be very good for most listening purposes, but I personally prefer a bit more low end in music than what the Flex offers. That said, it’s not something I’ve noticed myself missing after just a few minutes of listening to the Flex.
The company is offering a low-cost option for anyone who’s looking for wireless earbuds and doesn’t want to spend a lot of money. Especially those people who are looking for something to replace the Earpods that Apple no longer gives them for free with a new iPhone. Plus, Beats managed to pack features like quick pairing that go beyond the basic on-board controls. And it included great battery life to just round out a solid features list. But even at $50, you have to be willing to make some sacrifices — mostly in the audio department. At the end of the day, the Beats Flex works well, and sounds okay enough to be just fine for a lot of people.
The timing shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, considering Apple owns Beats and it knows most iPhone owners need some sort of headphones or earbuds. Even if it’s a basic pair that gets the job done, without all the bells and whistles like active noise-cancellation. At $11 off, Beats Flex headphones have never been cheaper. They feature the same Apple W1 chip found in the Beats Solo3, a built-in mic, USB-C charging support, and up to 12 hours of battery life on a full charge. Beats work with Apple and Android devices via the free Beats companion app. Unlike “true wireless” earbuds, the Flex are still connected by a fairly long wire that can hang either in front or behind your neck while you wear them .
Now that we know the iPhone 12 won’t come with any EarPods, there are bound to be some people who will have to rush to buy headphones for their shiny new device. We analyzed a total of 1,751 reviews for this product out of which, 1367 reviews were received in the last 6 months. Beats says a new proprietary acoustic platform offers accurate bass and precision beats solo pro wireless across all frequencies , while the drivers measure 8.2mm. The magnetic buds that debuted on the X make a welcome return, and the cable is a little longer than you might expect as Beats’ style is for it to curl round and sit on either shoulder. Sounds fiddly, but in practice the Flex do this naturally, and that’s down to what they’re made from.
Other issues can cause this symptom, too but it is infrequent. Moreover, their carrying case offers an additional charge. They also got a standby mode to conserve power when not in use. The Flex earbuds are superior in terms of build quality and comfortability too. Audio latency is also lower than the Beats X on iOS and Android.
Magnetic earbuds make listening that much easier by automatically playing music when they’re in your ears and pausing when they’re attached around your neck1. There’s one thing to note, though, as Apple doesn’t make any mention of IP rating for water or sweat-resistance – and none of its promotional photos for the Flex shows them being used for exercise either. So the emphasis here seems to be more on general use when you’re out and about during the day, rather than on sport or exercise.